In times of stress: Taking a Bath

I was going to add this into one of the others posts on destressing but decided it needed it's own post. Taking a bath to me is almost a religion and something I need to do more often.

I'm going to start off with a quote from Sylvia Plath, who describes why taking a bath is so good at relieving stress, much better than I could ever attempt at describing it

" I thought of crawling in between the bed-sheets and trying to sleep but that appealed to me about as much as stuffing a dirty scrawled-over letter into a fresh, clean envelope. I decided to take a bath.

There must be quite a few things a hot bath won't cure but I don't know many of them. Whenever I'm sad I'm going to die or so nervous I can't sleep or in love with somebody I won't be seeing for a week, I slump down just so far and then I say 'I'll go have a hot bath'.

I meditate in the bath. The water needs to be very hot, so hot you can barely stand putting your foot in it. Then you lower yourself, inch by inch, till the water's up to your neck......I never feel so much myself as when I'm in a hot bath.....I don't believe in baptism or the waters of Jordan or anything like that, but I guess I feel about a hot bath the way those religious people feel about holy water" (Adapted from The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath)

There's something so soothing about having a bath, I feel that as I sink in,the stress, anxiety and other bad things beginnings to melt away, dissolving into the surrounding water. The hot water soothes any physical stresses, often a bath or shower will help improve a headache. I usually read when I take a bath but sometimes I just lie down and listen to my breathing and heart rate, almost like a trance. Afterwards I feel new and pure again. It's incredible how something so simple can have such an amazing effect.

The perfect bath for me involves hot water, lots and lots of bubbles, a hair masque and some magazines, maybe even some candles. Recently I've been using Bubble Bars from Lush for my bubbles, though when I was younger The Body Shop was what I loved. If I'm feel particularly indulgent, I'll also use other bath products, using from Lush, like Bath Melts (chunks of oils and body butters that dissolve and that make your skin feel so soft after) and Bath Bombs/Ballistics (fizzing!). I'm always on the look out for new products to use so please feel free to recommend your favourite bath products!